Day 36: "Paddle fast, boys!"

When we got to the beach after an early breakfast, we stocked up on two essentials: sunscreen, and more bro shirts. That brings our total to 5 each. We like these new ones the best, as they commemorate surfing at Padang Padang - an activity which we enjoyed later in the day. After a relaxing morning spent reading under our rented beach umbrella (we're doing our best to stay out of the sun when possible), we rented two longboards from the lifeguard station (we wonder if they bother saving mere swimmers, as the sign above the shack reads "Surfer Saving Station").

The waves were a bit smaller than yesterday, so we paddled out excited and with a healthy dose of confidence, even though neither of us have surfed since our senior year at Cate, when Ned Bowler took us to Rincon and we were so novice that we let the current take us halfway to La Conchita and had to walk back along the rocks beside the highway. This experience would prove much more fruitful than our last.

The beauty of the Padang Padang break is that there is a large open channel in which to paddle out, allowing you to avoid fighting through the relentlessly pounding waves. Not to mention the fact that the period is huge and each set promises a handful of nearly flawless waves. When we first got out to the waiting area with the other surfers (this was once again like a UN delegation, with representatives from Italy, Brazil, France, Portugal, Germany, Australia, and South Africa) a big Aussie on a paddle board gave us a few pointers on our board positioning and then yelled at us to "Paddle fast, boys!" in the direction of the coming waves. Danny caught the first of the set, dropped in and stood up, riding the wave (white water and all) about 100 meters towards shore. Ashwin immediately followed on the next wave. We couldn't believe that we both stood up on our first waves. It was an incredible feeling and we now understand why people dedicate their lives to this sport. We stayed out for 2 hours, catching about a dozen waves each, and were thoroughly exhausted upon our return.

When the lifeguard jokingly scolded us for being over our time limit, we realized that we have been following the wrong time for the last 3 days. Unknown to us until that moment, Bali is 1 hour ahead of Jogyakarta and Mt Bromo. Luckily, with the laid back island surf culture here, our ignorant mistake never interfered with our activities. Never wearing watches and doing everything as we please is the beauty of being here. We live on our own time.

Having worked up an appetite from surfing, we grabbed lunch at the top of the cliff, where a German woman told us that Ashwin looks like a dark Emile Hirsch, and the waitress asked if we were both Brazilian (we told you we fit the prerequisites to be on the beach). The rest of the afternoon was spent recovering on the beach reading and enjoying the late afternoon sun. May, no alcohol is needed here - the activities, people, culture, and scenery provide all the entertainment we could ever wish for. Michael, after living in this environment we will no longer need to join AA. Thanks for the information, though.

Tomorrow we catch an early morning boat to the Gili Islands, a mecca for scubadiving and snorkeling, and an even more remote and untouched version of heaven on Earth.